Friday, October 16, 2009

Patty and Reggie Girl pioneered the "My Town" Photo Shoot Out asking us to post photos of our local community every Friday. From a handful of participants it has grown into a world wide phenomenon with over 77 contributors and is now in the capable hands of ChefE, Jen and GingerV.

For a comprehensive list and how to join instructions, just click on the camera at bottom of my side panel.

Next weeks theme, suggested by Ellisa is Classics Of Childhood.

I live in Toronto, in the Scarborough area of Toronto, in the West Hill area of Scarborough. So West Hill will be the focus of my photos.

********************************************************************For the past month Toronto has been under cloudy skies and, for the most part, it has rained. Not spectacular dramatic thunderstorms, not torrential downpours that give us something to talk about, not anything "photographic", just endless drizzle that makes us moan

We haven't seen the sunrise or set for weeks. Instead the day just brightens. Kind of.

So I wondered about doing this shootout. There would be no glorious red skies at night, no sailor's delight. No spectacular greeting of the day.

I checked the topic heading again. No where did it specify the skies should flame with dramatic reds and oranges. No where did it require the actual sun needed to make an appearance. No where did it say murk and drizzle were disqualified.

And so I grabbed my camera and my slightly surprised dog and headed through the dark of night to the park at the bottom of Morningside to stalk the illusive sunrise. Unsurprisingly, we were alone in the gloaming, my boots rapidly getting wet from the rain drentched grass.

Ninety meters below us, the gray waters of the lake, churned and slammed against the clay bluffs as the black skies lightened into a gunmetal gray.

But even so, through the camera lens, I began to see interesting shapes. I began to see images that weren't bad. That were, in their own darkly subtle way, beautiful.

And as the skies brightened, I began to shoot. And to think. Without the camera, without this Friday blog to post, I would never be here and would never see this.

And strangely, as I clicked the shutter, alone in the lightening gloom of the day, I began to feel good. Honoured, in fact to be here to experience the coming of this day.

A Little Background

Welcome to this highly eclectic blog. It began its little life as a lighthearted look at the events of the world around me, especially the adventures of my dog Lindsay. However in March of 2009 I was diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer which, as you might suspect, changed the nature and tone of this blog considerably, especially now that the cancer has metastasized to the bones of my hip, ribs, spine and possibly lungs. So now, for the most part, this blog chronicles my search for a healthy life both within and without conventional medicine. However, I continue to post about my dog Lindsay episodically, participate in "Our Town Shootouts" on Fridays, and Sepia Saturdays.
And every now and then, I just post what I want.